Thurrock-October 2014 results

Hello friends, things are certainly looking good for my Thurrock team. We are hovering among the top after the results of the last two months. We will be facing a stern test to our promotion credentials in October as there are some difficult fixtures awaiting us. We will play 5 games including a JPT fixture against Charlton. Here is the results of October.

We had a very poor month with no wins at all. 2 draws and 2 losses coupled with us out of the JPT competition which sum up our results in October. Defensively we were very poor and we still lack of quality of challenging with the elite in league 2.

First game of the month was against Cambridge one of the four teams relegated from league 1. They were struggling in league 2 at the moment but they really had some good players there. 3 minutes after the start of the whistle, Troy Archibad-Henville suffered the embarrassment of putting the ball into his own net when there is no pressure from the opposition payer. We were under tremendous pressure after the goal and they went one better scoring another goal from the edge of the area. It was a poor first half performance from us. We played better in the second half but finding hard to break down their disciplined defence. Izale McLeod pulled a goal back in 62nd minute after a fine vision from Thomas Hitchcock but thats the only highlight for us in the whole game.We lost the game 2-1.

This was a JPT fixture against league 1 side Charlton who was much much better to us in all departments. They totally walked over us in this game and we really having trouble containing their players. Just take a look at the shots they have, i thought we were lucky to lose by two goals. They had too much quality in their side and i believe we should have provide a bigger challenge to them. In fact we made it easy for them to progress to the next round.

After the exit of JPT in the hands of Charlton, we returned to Ship Lane to face 9th place Bristol Rovers second former league 1 team we faced in this month. I was a bit cautious since the defeat to Cambridge, but i thought we played better in this game. We were the better team throughout the whole game and created a lot of shots but just couldn’t convert them. The match ended goalless and they had their goalkeeper to thank for. Without him, we would have won the game by 3-4 goals. This really show how a good and a bad goalkeeper can make the difference between a defeat and a draw. He had a massive rating of 9.3 and i can’t remember how many saves he had made in this game. Just too bad he had a solid outing against us which i couldn’t complain about losing 2 points.

Our next game will be against our play-off rival last season. We had poor record against Stockport. We had not win any of our meetings against them and i hope to put the record straight this time. Seems like our away form had been short of brilliant this season. In the first 45 minutes, we conceded 2 goals and only mastered 1 shot in the process. I urged the team to perform better after the break, Thomas Hitchcock reduce the deficit when he score a place shot in the 50th minute but within 5 minutes they restored the 2 goal advantage. We never really look capable of making things level but managed to sore in injury time to make the score 3-2. We need to wait for the next time round to record our first win against them.

Last game of the month was against 15th place Carlisle. We went into this match searching for our first win since last month and deservingly took the lead in 20th minute when Petr Kopecky took the ball pass few defenders and smashed the ball into the net. They soon equalized when a miss interception by Robbie Threlfall allowed their player to score a goal. Thomas Hitchcock restored our advantage after putting through by Petr Kopecky. Things were level again when they scored at the edge of the area. Both teams were very poor in defence and i expect more goals in the second half. Thomas Hitchcock scored his second goal in the 60th minute with a superb solo effort. Just when i thought we had got the winner, the ever dangerous Francois Zoko broken the Thurrock fan’s heart with an equalizer in the 88th minute.

With no wins in this month, we dropped to 7th place in the table. It was very disappointing as we seem to be very weak in our defensive side against quality teams. I was particularly disappointed with my new goalkeeper Sam Spender, he doesn’t seems to be reliable. I will try to stand by him as long as possible but if he doesn’t improve for the next few games, i think i will give a chance to Nikki Bull or Joe Woolley. I believe we need to work on how to defend better for the next few games.

Next month will see us playing 5 games including our FA cup 1st round against a non-league side. I hope to see better performance from my players. Thats it my friends, we had a very poor month and i am looking forward to your comments and feedback. Next post will be the update for my results in November and hope to have good news for you.